At just 18 years old, Callista Clark has already positioned herself as one of the brightest new talents in Nashville. Her mature lyricism and impressive vocals showcase an artist of immense talent and it seems to diminish the depth of that talent to underline her youth, standing head and shoulders alongside the most mature upcoming vocals on the country scene.

The entirety of Real To Me: The Way I Feel is a thoughtfully composed and rounded project, showcasing the power both of Clark’s vocals and her lyricism – she co-wrote all the tracks on the record. The album is equally as filled with inspiring tracks that will hit the mark for her fellow teenagers, so too there are tracks that showcase her own strength and vulnerability that go further than just her teen years. ‘Real to Me’ that rounds out the record feels like her battle-cry – even though she may be young, her emotions are still ‘real’ to her. This track alone shows the potential of Callista Clark as a talent in this space, but one whose star doubtless will not be boxed just into Nashville. There’s a real, undeniable rock-edge to her vocal and her instrumentation that is intoxicating.

The first notes of ‘It’s ‘Cause I Am’ are bold and unabashed. Though it was the lead-out single to radio, it’s arguably it is the weakest note on the project and should not be a signifier of what follows. There’s something in her sound and instrumentation on this track that feels flat and generic – not testament to the true power of Clark. Though she sings of empowerment and not giving a damn – ‘I can’t help that I’m one of a kind / I’m more than meets the eye / If I ain’t what you like / Well, that’s alright / You want a one-dimensional woman / It’s okay, I understand / If I seem too complicated for ya, mm / It’s ’cause I am‘ – there’s something in the arrangement that does not back up the confidence of the lyrics, unlike the rest of the album to follow…

Clark is at her best when she plays with the edges of her production. So, many of the tracks possess a warmer, more country-hued production. ‘Worst Guy Ever’ is surprisingly rammed with charm as she questions how a guy could possibly do all the things he does, saying that she’d be the worst guy ever. ‘If I did that to someone, what would that say about me?‘ ‘Sad’ is another lovely, charming and jaunty track, as Callista questions why she isn’t sad at the end of a relationship. It’s truly a delightful track that provides some levity on the record.

There’s a huge depth to the record that is surprising for someone of Clark’s age. ‘Gave It Back Broken’ embraces a maturity that could fit seamlessly into Carly Pearce’s 29, with a vocal possessing many of the same qualities as an early Kelly Clarkson as she sings to a guy who broke her heart. ‘You don’t get to be the good guy, with a goodbye like that.’ The track is a display of every nuance and breadth of her vocal talent. Indeed, ‘Brave Girl’ is the latest single from the album and is an immensely insightful and inspiring album – penned alongside Emily Landis and Ben Johnson. On the track, Clark emboldens listeners to embrace their unique qualities, as the chorus delivers words of encouragement, “Be brave, girl / Jump in and make your own wave girl / Say what you wanna say, say it like you mean it / You’re gonna be okay even if you don’t believe it.” It’s an immensely emotive track, displaying her capacity as a songwriter of both depth and wit.

Elsewhere, Clark brings in a more RnB-tinged production on ‘Wish You Wouldn’t’ that marries perfectly with her vocal, dripping around the lyrics, as she pleads with a lover to leave her alone and let her go. ‘You’ll pick up your phone / thinking you should call me up / Cos you’re wondering how I’ve been… I wish you wouldn’t.’ It’s a moodier, more mature and seductive tone than the top half of the album, but that tone suits Clark to a tee. Indeed, the later half of this record is the strongest moment by far, where Callista brings in a sound that possesses a 00s rock feel. ‘Heartbreak Song’ is another song that is hugely reminiscent of an early Kelly Clarkson, with its layered harmonies that feel 00s in tone. This track is an easy standout and pointer for a potential direction in Clark’s music that we – for one – would be hugely supportive of! ‘Baby, ever since you’ve been gone / I feel a heartbreak song coming on.’ Finally, the star moment on the record, arguably, is ‘Don’t Need It Anymore’ another moodier heartbreak song that hits just right. With every listen, it just gets better – a true masterpiece of a track that showcases again the immensity of Clark’s vocal prowess. ‘This heart’s useless, worthless ‘cos it just doesn’t work / Like it did before / You stole the meaning, it’s not beating / You can keep it / I don’t need it anymore.’ The hefty drum beat is the main backing instrumentation of the track, with Clark’s vocal taking certain stage as the main instrument for the song.

Real To Me: The Way I Feel is a record that needs more than one listen to understand the enormous potential of Callista Clark and the later half of this record underlines this as a more hefty and bold 00s rock production is brought in that seeks to reinforce the immense and unique powers of her vocals. The record is a triumph that feels like the starting point for Clark.

The post ALBUM REVIEW: Real to Me: The Way I Feel – Callista Clark appeared first on off the record.

Rising country star Callista Clark has announced that her debut album REAL TO ME: THE WAY I FEEL, will be released on 14th October via Big Machine Records. Expanding her REAL TO ME collection to 10 tracks, the 18-year-old exudes both strength and vulnerability in pointed lyrics that leave no doubt where she stands. Produced by Nathan Chapman, Callista’s debut album reveals a songwriter of considerable depth and wit and a gifted singer with confidence and an impressive presence unique to someone her age. It all adds up to a powerful launch for an artist whose music is poised to become the soundtrack for the heartbreaks and triumphs of her generation. Fans can pre-order the album here.

“I couldn’t be more excited to share that my FIRST ALBUM EVER is coming out October 14! I have been waiting so long and trying my best to get all the new songs as perfect as I can. The ‘Real to Me’ era is not over yet! Can’t wait for y’all to hear it,” says Callista.

In very exciting news for UK fans, Callista has been announced as special guest on fellow Big Machine artist Brett Young’s November tour dates:

November 11  CAMBRIDGE Junction

November 12  MANCHESTER Academy 2

November 13  LONDON O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

November 15  GLASGOW O2 Academy

November 16  BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute

Tickets on general sale here.

Callista gave fans a sneak preview of her new album with the release of a brand new track, “Sad” – a breezy anthem boasting an infectious melody and sassy, tongue-in-cheek performance as Callista sings “If I’m supposed to cry through the lonely nights ‘cause you said goodbye well why ain’t I, why ain’t I sad?” Survival never sounded more buoyant and self-assured.

“‘Sad’ is one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written,” adds Callista. “It’s super lighthearted and perfect for summer. I wanted the lyrics of this song to be fun and sarcastic – the exact opposite of how I was feeling while going through a heartbreak. Manifesting not being sad.”

REAL TO ME: THE WAY I FEEL TRACK LIST

“It’s ‘Cause I Am” | Callista Clark, Cameron Jaymes, Laura Veltz

“Gave It Back Broken” | Callista Clark, Emily Shackelton

“Change My Mind” | Callista Clark, Dan Isbell, Jonathan Singleton

“Worst Guy Ever” | Callista Clark, Jordan Reynolds, Emily Weisband

“Brave Girl” | Callista Clark, Ben Johnson, Emily Landis

“Wish You Wouldn’t” | Callista Clark, Emily Falvey, Lalo Guzman

“Heartbreak Song” | Callista Clark, Chris DeStefano, Liz Rose, Emily Shackelton

“Don’t Need It Anymore” | Callista Clark, Cameron Jaymes, Melissa Peirce

“Sad” | Callista Clark, Sarah Buxton, Jimmy Robbins

“Real To Me” | Callista Clark, Casey Robert Brown, Laura Veltz

The post Callista Clark Announces Debut Album – Real To Me appeared first on off the record.

Watch the video below.

Big Machine artist Callista Clark has released a brand new music video that radiates female empowerment, showcasing all the sides of herself.  The vibrant music video sees Clark through the decades as anything but a “one-dimensional woman.” Director Audrey Ellis Fox adds another layer to the confident lyrics, which Clark co-wrote alongside Cameron Jaymes and Laura Veltz.

“I couldn’t be more excited to release my first music video! This is the kind of thing I’ve always dreamed about. Being on set and watching it come to life was surreal.” Callista shared. “’It’s ‘Cause I Am’ has completely changed my life. I’m absolutely amazed with the way everything came together and I can’t wait for y’all to see it!”

Clark made her television debut, performing “It’s ‘Cause I Am” on Live with Kelly & Ryan  last month. The iHeartCountry On The Verge Artist also makes a bold introduction at US Country radio, becoming  the fastest moving new artist debut of 2021. Blending her love for authentic, timeless classics with the sounds of her Georgia roots, Clark “arrives with confidence and verve” (Billboard) on her debut collection Real To Me. She collaborated with many of Country music’s leading songwriters for the project, including Jonathan Singleton, Laura Veltz, Nicolle Galyon, and Emily Shackleton.

Follow Clark’s journey on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

The post Callista Clark Releases New Music Video for ‘It’s Cause I Am’ appeared first on off the record.

Hi Callista, how are you? Congratulations on your debut EP, it must be a relief to finally get this one out into the world? 

I’m doing good. It’s been crazy, it’s been so much fun. It’s been a while of writing songs and just trying to get the best stuff out there. I know that me and my fans and my family have just been waiting for this moment and it’s finally here. It’s kind of surreal honestly.

It takes so long to figure out where you want to position it as a debut, because you have so many songs that it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few songs. 

It is, a lot of the time. Something that I tried to do when I was writing for this collection was to just go in and get the best song that day, whether it sounded more pop than I wanted it to go, or more RnB or more truly country. Whatever it was, I knew that I could bring it back in to whatever that sound was, whatever the look was, whatever the idea was. I just really went for whatever the idea was to get the best one that day.

Something that really struck me was the maturity of the songwriting on this project. How long have you been songwriting for? I know that you’ve written with some incredible songwriters on this project, so how have your experiences been working with all of them? 

It’s been incredible, I’ve written with a lot of really amazing songwriters, some of my favourite songwriters. It’s just been mind-blowing that they’ve taken a chance on a new artist like me. The great thing about this collection is that all of my very first co-writes ever – ‘Real To Me’ or ‘Change My Mind’ or ‘Heartbreak Song’ – are all on this collection. I’ve been fortunate to have a really great team behind me and had the great experience working with these songwriters and having people standing behind this music. Even though these were my first co-writes and I was 15 when I wrote those, they still know that those are some of the best songs and that this is the best way to introduce me to the world. I’m really glad that we stuck with those, and it just shows how excited we were from the beginning about those songs.

Your producer was Nathan Chapman, so what did he bring to the project and what did he enable you to do as an artist? 

Nathan Chapman is incredible, he just gets it. I think that’s the best way to explain it. I would give him direction, but he’d already know what I was talking about. He’s just incredible that way, he loves being challenged and so do I, if I had any ideas for him he’d get it, times a million. A lot of the time, I don’t know what I’m trying to say, I might be drumming on a desk with pencils or something, so yeah, he’s great, he definitely reads my mind a lot. It turned into this amazing thing that was just beyond anything I’d ever imagined.

Obviously you’re signed to Big Machine, how did that all come about? It must be amazing to have a name like that behind you at such a young age?

Yeah, I still can’t believe it’s happening. I can’t believe that someone like Scott and Scooter find or see something in me, it’s still incredible to me. I posted a video on my Facebook when I was 13 and I was singing ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ by Credence Clearwater Revival – such a great song. I didn’t expect anything when I posted that video and I still don’t know to this day what it was about that video that made it do what it did. I had no idea that I could reach that many people through social media – that was the first time where I ever realised that that was a possibility to get in front of that many people. It now has around 27 million views and it was just the craziest thing, that was how I met Scott and Scooter and the incredible team that I’m working with now.

You talked earlier about not necessarily writing for a particular genre, I hear a lot of different influences in your music. Who have you been influenced by and have you always had that breadth of musical inspiration? 

Yeah, I love all kinds of music, the first place that I ever sang was at my granddad’s church, so there’s a lot of the Christian flair in a lot of it. I think that you can always tell when a singer grew up singing in church, I just do, there’s something magical about that and I think it helps connect with your music in a different way. Then I started listening to all the best 80s and 90s country, the Motown, the rock, Maren Morris, Ingrid Address… I love women that can do it all, the music, the singing, just all of that.

Is it really important to you then to handle the songwriting of your songs and guide what you want to put out there? 

Yes I always write my songs and I wrote all the songs on this collection.

‘It’s Cause I Am’ is one of my favourite tracks on the project, it’s so empowering and it’s a good message to have on your debut. Can you talk a bit about that song in particular? 

Yes, thank you! I feel like that song and the whole collection is just this great way of introducing myself, something I want to be known for is just being really honest and real, no matter what that is, whether it’s me being sassy when it’s time to perform, whatever the emotion is, I just want to be really honest and really go for it. With that one, I went into my write and I was just mad, because people don’t take me seriously. It’s so hard being a teenager, and that’s what ‘Real To Me’ is about, but it’s also so hard being a young girl in this industry sometimes. I have had shows where the sound guy would come up to my guitarist instead of me, because he was the guy. So little things like that were just driving me crazy, I was just letting it all out in this write, I just remember thinking you don’t have to get it I’ll just show you, that was my mindset. This was my way of saying, this is who I am take it or leave it, and I’ll just show you what I do. It just exploded from there.

I want to be a voice for anyone who feels unheard or misunderstood, or anyone who feels like that too. If they’re trying to have a career in music or sports or whatever that is, I know everyone feels like that at some point in their life. I hope these songs are empowering and something that they can relate to.

It’s so important to know that from the outset of your career. Can you talk about ‘Real To Me’ itself, how did the project evolve from that track?

Yeah, so ‘Real To Me’ was one of my first co-writes ever, and ‘Change My Mind’ and ‘Heartbreak Song’ were as well. It’s crazy, I wrote that song and I went in, just feeling really misunderstood and not understanding the co-writing process at all just yet. I was with Laura Veltz and Casey Brown, who are two incredible songwriters. I remember thinking, ‘ok if I’m going to do this, then I’m going to do this.’ When they asked me how I was feeling, I just let it out, I said everything I was feeling. Laura Veltz is such an incredible songwriter, and so she was just recording what I was saying, recording and writing little mental notes. It just went from there, it started to do this poem thing. It all just came out, and it was just something that I felt that day. I went through a break-up, which you can probably tell, I just remember thinking that everyone’s telling me that just because I’m 15 years old that whatever I’m feeling isn’t real yet, but I’m sitting here crying, I’m telling you this hurts and I’m upset and you’re telling me that it’s not real. I had this battle going on, I felt so misunderstood and that’s the best word I can use. I was just ranting to her about how I was feeling. Even though I’m young, it does not make my feelings any less real. I think that’s something that everyone can relate to.

Congratulations on this project! We’re excited to see what you do next!

The post INTERVIEW: Callista Clark on her debut EP, Big Machine and more appeared first on off the record.

At just 17 years old, Callista Clark is already making an impact on the industry, with incredible raw and vulnerable songwriting. Her debut collection Real To Me out today via Big Machine Records showcases her vulnerability and heart in full. Listen to the project in full here.

Blending her love for authentic, timeless classics with the sounds of her Country roots, Clark “puts a fresh spin on soul phrasing” (Billboard). Gearing up to release her debut music, she’s worked with many of Nashville’s leading songwriters including Jonathan Singleton, Laura Veltz, Nicolle Galyon, and Emily Shackleton, among others and the proof that Clark could hold her own among Nashville’s most prominent is evident in the five songs of Real To Me.

Working with producer Nathan Chapman, Clark has crafted an impressive debut that showcases her skills as a songwriter and her heart-wrenching vocal delivery through the feisty anthem of “Change My Mind,” the poignant and relatable truths of “Real to Me” and the declaration of confidence in “It’s Cause I Am,” as her first single. It’s her ability to combine her assertive and vulnerable sides, while showcases an empowering and brutal honesty that make Real to Me such an engaging and auspicious introduction.

Real To Me Track List

“It’s Cause I Am” | Callista Clark, Cameron Jaymes, Laura Veltz

“Heartbreak Song” | Callista Clark, Chris DeStefano, Liz Rose, Emily Shackelton

“Change My Mind” | Callista Clark, Dan Isbell, Jonathan Singleton

“Don’t Need It Anymore” | Callista Clark, Cameron Jaymes, Melissa Peirce

“Real To Me” | Callista Clark, Casey Robert Brown, Laura Veltz

Clark has poured her heart into these songs and is hoping they encourage those who listen. “They are all very real and very personal stories for me,” she says. “There is some heavy emotion behind all of these, and I hope that somebody can relate to them. I really do.”

From when she first stepped on stage to perform with Jennifer Nettles at 12 years old to her inspiring online videos, Callista has revealed herself to be not only a singer of incredible depth and pathos, but also a skilled musician of 8 instruments. Amassing over 65 million views on Facebook and 6 million views on YouTube, she’s grown her own grassroots fanbase with which Scooter Braun (SB Projects) and Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group) took notice. Watch as Callista looks back at the video that changed her life: https://callistaclark.lnk.to/yt_chapter.

Follow Callista on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

The post Callista Clark Releases Empowering New Debut EP appeared first on off the record.